A New Beginning
by SonomaCurtis
Summary: Where there was once for there are now eight. A calm master loses his strength. And a smooth family is divided.
1. Chapter 1

"Splinter, look." The smaller rat gestured to the glowing green ooze. In the ooze were eight small turtles. Tenderly, she picked one up and turned to face her mate. Splinter looked at the small creature and turned away. When he came back he was pushing a coffee bean can and began to gather the other turtles inside it.

"Thorn, do you want to keep them?" He asked. They both knew that Thorn would never be able to carry her own children, she hadn't been able to before.

"Yes. They're only babies." She said, happy. Splinter nodded and began to roll the can down the sewer to where the two rats normally sheltered.

Two years later

"Oh! Look here! Some pieces of cloth and some books!" Thorn exclaimed. Carefully she picked them up and brought them back to the small home that she shared with Splinter and the turtles. Thorn walked over to the small bookshelf and set down the new books. with a knife she cut eyeholes in the strips of cloth that she had found.

"Mary, Cleopatra, Van Goh, Jahanara, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, come here." She called. All the turtles began to crowd around her. Thorn noticed that each color suited one of the turtle's personalities. The first band in her hand was blue, loyal and calm, much like Leonardo. The second was a hot pink. Lively and noticeable, like Cleopatra. Then came black, dark and powerful, perfect for Mary. Orange symbolized Mikey's playful behavior. Then red, a smile on her face she handed the cloth to Raphael, his short temper more than matched the color. A light green she gave to Van Goh, the color almost blended into Van's complexion, much like she wanted to blend into the crowd. Purple, a regal color for a sophisticated turtle, as soon as she handed it to Donnie, he put it in his small book of renaissance art.

Last came an odd color. Silver. For a few seconds, Thorn wondered how someone could throw away such a beautiful cloth, but then she remembered Jahanara. The silver was well suited to her, for the young turtle was odd in a wondrous way. A leader, but not willingly.

Without saying a word, Jahanara took the cloth and tied it around her head. Cleopatra, the nosy one, ran to see what new books Thorn had brought. Splinter also investigated. Suddenly he grew stiff and picked up one of the books.

"What is this?" He asked, his voice strained. Thorn read the front cover and smiled.

"It's a magic book. I was thinking that I could teach the kids. I mean, you're teaching them fighting, I thought..." But she couldn't finish. Splinter roughly threw the book across the room.

"I won't have that in the children's heads!" He roared. Thorn blinked, not knowing how to respond to Splinter's outburst. Finally she found her voice.

"And why not?" She demanded. Splinter looked her straight in the eye.

"Because, this is not real, this will not help them survive!" He shouted.

"Really?" She yelled back. Her fists clenched and unclenched. "I intend to give them everything that I can." She said, trying to calm down.

"Not my sons. They will not learn such nonsense." Splinter hissed then turned his back on Thorn. In a rage she grabbed the magic book and the weapons off of the wall that Splinter had intended to give the girls. Then she ushered the girls out of the small home and into the sewer tunnel.


	2. Chapter 2

"Mother?" A smooth voice asked. The cloaked figure turned at the call. Her face was revealed, a gray rat face.

"Yes, Mary?" She asked her eldest daughter. The sixteen-year-old turtle mutant looked down at her hands.

"Mother, I'm worried for us. Every day there is more activity in the sewers. What if we are found?" Her voice quavered for a moment. Her only fear was that her family would be harmed.

"Don't you trust Jahanara's magic?" The old rat asked, a smile in her voice.

"Yes, but-" Mary tried to explain herself, but her voice dropped out. She couldn't shake the feeling that bad was coming their way. It could have been her powers working subconsciously; she was a mage of time. She could call up visions of the past future, and present. She was just now learning how to slow time for herself. Maybe her power was giving her a warning.

"Don't worry, dear. Why don't you go and find Cleo to spar with?" Thorn suggested. She settled back in her old reclining chair. "I'm afraid I'm a bit tired."

Mary sighed and smiled for her mother, then gave her a kiss on the forehead and left. She traveled down the side tunnel for a while until she found the room where she and her sisters slept. Usually the sleeping bags and blankets were all rolled up against the wall, but only Jahanara's and Mary's were. Suspicion rose in her chest and Mary walked down further toward the exit. Standing just inside the shield of magic that protected them from sight, Mary found her youngest sister, Van Gogh.

"Van, what are you doing here?" She demanded. Van jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Oh! Um, I'm keeping watch." She stammered. Mary raised an eyebrow. Van broke. "J and Cleo went outside again!" She exclaimed. Mary growled and rolled her eyes.

"Great." She muttered. She had just put her foot outside the barrier when she heard shouts. She turned her head to look down the long corridor she was stepping into and saw two figures running toward her. "There they are!" She growled. "They are in a heap of trouble…." Her voice trailed off as she saw more figures come into view. Her eyes widened.

"Mary!" J's voice echoed toward her, unfreezing the eldest turtle. Mary stepped out into the corridor. She slowed her breath and focused hard. Slowly but surely, the movements of everyone around her slowed down. She ran to meet her sisters. As she neared her sluggish siblings, she noticed that they didn't look like turtles. Jahanara had used her illusions to make them look human. Mary grabbed them by the shirts, bringing them up to her own speed.

"J, Cleo, what were you thinking!?" Mary demanded as she dragged them back down the corridor to the entrance. She threw them inside. Time around her suddenly sped back up. Mary fell to her knee, exhausted from the magic. She looked up through bleary vision to see the pursuers closing in upon her.

"A Turtle!" One exclaimed. "Master Shredder would love this surprise. We should bring it to him."

"But where did those two girls go?" Another piped up. The one who had spoken before waved the woman off.

"We have something much better now." He growled, a smile in his voice. "Besides, where there is a Turtle, there is a Rat.

Behind the entrance, Cleo, Van, and J were all frozen in place. Not a one knew what to do. Mary was their leader. Without her, they couldn't act. They watched as Mary was picked up and carried away. It wasn't until she was out of sight before J acted. She blinked a few times and shook her head.

"Mary!" She shouted and ran out of the entrance. Cleo followed her with Van reluctantly bringing up the rear. J continued to shout, running after where she thought they had taken Mary. They ended up in tunnels they had never before explored. Judging by the streetlights shining through the grates, night had fallen.

"J, we have to stop." Van breathed heavily.

"We can't! Mary is-" She choked.

"Mary is gone, J." Cleo said, sorrow slipping all over her vocal chords. She sat down and began to cry. Van sat beside her, tears in her eyes as well. J stood there, watching her sisters, feeling useless. She turned and continued walking in the direction they had been running. She hadn't taken more than a few steps before she heard voices.

"Dude, like, why are we even down here?"

"Because, Mikey, we need to pick up Splinter's stuff."

"What stuff, Raph? Hasn't he already got his books?"

"He thinks he forgot somethi-" The deeper voice broke off. J and her sisters had all pressed themselves up against the wall. Fear gripped their hearts. Had he detected them?

"Mikey, there's someone down here."


End file.
